Some things you need to know about Texans and Texas teams involved in sports: • • • • • • • 1. McHugh has another strong outing for Astros< When Scott Feldman went on the disabled list, waiver claim Collin McHugh was plugged into the top spot in the Houston rotation. McHugh followed a 12-strikeout debut by allowing just two hits and one run in 8 2/3 innings for the Astros in a 5-1 win over Oakland at Minute Maid Park. ... McHughs bid for a complete-game shutout was foiled by Oakland with two outs in the ninth. He held the As to two hits -- a single in the first and another in the ninth. Houston has won consecutive games for only the third time this year. It was the first time the Astros have beaten the As by more than a run. ... The Astros blew the game open in the seventh inning by scoring four runs on a two-run triple by Jonathan Villar and a two-run home run by Jose Altuve. Villar, the teams No. 9 hitter, also doubled and scored on a Dexter Fowler grounder in the third inning. ... McHugh allowed the As to load the bases with two outs in the first inning on a pair of walks and a single by Jed Lowrie, but he got Josh Reddick to pop out to shortstop to end the threat. He set down 19 of the next 20 batters he faced to take a one-hit shutout into the ninth inning. ... When we sent him out there in the ninth it was with the complete hope that he was going to be able to finish what he started, Houston manager Bo Porter said. That was tremendous. Attacking the strike zone with all three of his pitches and to pitch that well against a really good hitting Oakland As lineup speaks volumes to Collin and the way he and (Carlos) Corporan worked today. ... McHugh struck out seven and walked three in the longest outing of his career. His previous longest outing had been seven innings on Aug. 23, 2012, against Colorado when he was a member of the New York Mets. I actually wasnt even thinking about the hits, McHugh said. ... I was more mad about the walks. I walked a couple guys early, and with this team, you cant really give them free base runners because anyone in that lineup can do damage to you. As I kind of got momentum, I started to roll with it, and it got easier to make pitches and kind of feel the flow and go with it. ... Porter said McHugh has earned his keep. I dont think he put us in a tough spot; I think he put himself in a really good spot, Porter said. Performance pretty much speaks for itself. This guy has earned the right to get the ball the next turn. ... • • • • • • • 2. Bullpen lets Harrison down in return to action< All looked positive when Matt Harrison, pitching in the major leagues for the first time in over a year, left after six strong innings. Then Kyle Seager hit a three-run home run off Alexi Ogando in the bottom of the eighth inning that lifted the Mariners to a 6-5 victory over the Rangers. ... Seager, who entered the game hitting .213, also had a seventh-inning home run off Shawn Tolleson. The loss was the Rangers second in three games against the Mariners after they began the road trip by sweeping the Athletics. In both losses the Rangers took a lead into the bottom of the eighth inning. ... Ogando looked overpowering for two batters, striking out Robinson Cano and Corey Hart with just six pitches. He also threw two quick strikes to Justin Smoak, the former Ranger acquired when Texas borrowed Cliff Lee for a trip to the 2010 World Series. ... Smoak laid off one fastball up and away then hit a long double down the left-field line that just eluded Michael Choice. Pinch-hitter Dustin Ackley hit a high chopper over third baseman Adrian Beltre that shortstop Elvis Andrus fielded going to his right but had no play anywhere. That left runners at first and third for Seager. ... (Ogando) has so much good stuff you just have to look for something over the middle of the plate, Seager said. You just got to hope for a mistake pitch because his stuff is really good. Ogando threw two changeups. One missed the strike zone and the other didnt. It was supposed to be down and away, it was middle up, catcher Robinson Chirinos said. ... Seager smashed it into the right-field stands pretty much in the same area code as his seventh-inning home run off Tolleson. Its the third time this season the Rangers have lost despite leading after seven innings. I thought we had him, Rangers manager Ron Washington said. Thats why youve got to get 27 outs. I felt like we were in good position, we just didnt put it away. ... It was a tough loss but it was still a pretty good road trip, shortstop Elvis Andrus said. All losses are tough but those days are going to happen, second baseman Josh Wilson said. Youre going to lose some tough ones but thats the good thing about baseball. Theres always a game tomorrow so you have a chance to come back and erase it. ... It was a tough loss, Harrison said. It seems like Seager has had our number the past few years. We battled all the way, it just didnt turn out the way we had hoped. The positive for the Rangers is how Harrison pitched in his first major league game since April 6, 2013, allowing two runs on just three hits. He walked two and struck out four while setting down the side in order in four of six innings. ... He ended up throwing 95 pitches in his first start after being absent from the major leagues for over a year while dealing with the back problems that required two surgeries to correct. He was pretty good, Washington said. Good slider, good changeup, kept the ball down. He did a great job for having not been out there for awhile. ... • • • • • • • 3. Aldridge leads way as Portland takes 3-1 series lead< LaMarcus Aldridge (Seagoville HS and UT) had 29 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers past the Houston Rockets 123-120 in overtime to take a 3-1 advantage in their first-round playoff series. ... It was the third overtime game of the series. The Blazers, who trailed by as many as 11 points before rallying in the fourth quarter, havent advanced out of the first round since the postseason in 2000. It was the first win for a home team in the series which moves to Houston for Game 5 on Wednesday. ... James Harden had 28 points and Dwight Howard added 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets. Howard dunked off a feed from Harden with 3.6 seconds left to tie it again and Mo Williams missed a 3 at the buzzer to send the game into overtime at 106-all. ... At the start of overtime, Chandler Parsons was hit with a flagrant foul on Aldridge, who made both free throws to give the Blazers the lead to start off OT. Nicolas Batum scooped up a layup before adding a 3-pointer to put Portland ahead 115-110 with 2:34 left and Damian Lillard added a layup. ... After Aldridge made a long jumper, Houston rookie Troy Daniels nailed a 3 and Harden landed a jumper to narrow it to 119-117, but Lillard made free throws to extend the lead to four points with 17 seconds left. Aldridge missed a pair of free throws and Daniels was fouled on a 3-point attempt. He made all three shots to narrow it to 121-120 with 8.9 seconds left. After a Portland timeout, Mo Williams made free throws for the final margin. ... Aldridge opened Portlands return to the playoffs with a franchise postseason-best 46 points in the Blazers 122-120 overtime victory in Game 1, then followed it up with 43 points in the 112-105 win. The Rockets won the third, 121-116 in overtime on Friday night at the Moda Center. ... • • • • • • • 4. Baseball Briefs: Gee, Young spark Mets 4-0 win< Dillon Gee (Cleburne HS and UT-Arlington) tossed eight shutout innings to hurl the Mets to a 4-0 win over the Marlins. Gee struck out six and walked four, allowing three hits. Chris Young (Houston Bellaire HS) had a two-run home run in the fifth inning that gave the Mets a four-run. ... Matt Carpenter (Missouri City Elkins HS and TCU) doubled and scored the Cardinals first run in a 7-0 St. Louis victory over Pittsburgh. ... Huston Street (Austin Westlake HS and UT) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his ninth save as San Diego beat the Washington Nationals 4-2. ... To make room for Matt Harrison on the Rangers roster, Texas optioned infielder Luis Sardinas to Double-A Frisco. ... The Round Rock Express, Triple-A farm team of the Rangers, heads to Oklahoma City for a four-game series with the RedHawks, Triple-A affiliate of the Astros, after beating the Memphis Redbirds 6-2 at Dell Diamond. Scott Baker hurled six innings to win for the fourth time in five starts. ... • • • • • • • 5. College Baseball: Tech shells Oklahoma 14-4< Trailing 2-0, Texas Tech exploded for 10 runs on 10 hits in the bottom of the fifth inning while sending 16 batters to the plate in a 14-4 victory over Oklahoma in Lubbock. ... Tech improved to 10-7 in Big 12 play and won its fifth straight league game for the first time since 2004. The Red Raiders rank fourth in the country with 34 wins -- their most wins in a season since 2005. ... Four Red Raiders -- Adam Kirsch (Spring HS), Jake Barrios, Devon Conley and Tim Proudfoot each had two hits in the fifth inning while Eric Gutierrez (Mission Sharyland HS) hit his team-leading eighth home run, a three-run shot, to give Tech a 7-2 lead. Chris Sadberry (Holliday HS) earned his fourth win of the season pitching a season-high 7 1/3 innings, allowing four runs and scattering nine hits. ... Texas A&M beat Mississippi State 6-4 Saturday. Blake Allemand (Boerne Champion HS) went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and one stolen base. Nick Banks (Tomball HS) and Logan Taylor (Deer Park HS) each added two hits. ... Texas left 11 runners on base in an 8-3 loss to Oklahoma State at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Mark Payton extended his reached-base streak to 84 games in the loss. Payton, Brooks Marlow (Giddings HS), Ben Johnson (Round Rock Westwood HS) and Collin Shaw (Austin Westlake HS) all went 2-for-4. ... TCU set a school record with its 12th shutout of the season in a 3-0 win over Cal State Northridge. Tyler Alexander (Southlake Carroll HS) matched his career high with seven innings pitched, allowing four hits and striking out five. Riley Ferrell (College Station A&M Consolidated HS) got his 10th save of the season. ... Kansas beat Baylor 8-5, sweeping the Bears at home for the first time in Big 12 play since 2009. Adam Toth (Coppell HS) had five hits for Baylor. ... • • • • • • • 6. Baylor seniors have their day in run-rule win over Kansas< Seniors had their day, sparking Baylor to a 10-0 run-rule win over Kansas. Holly Holl (Katy HS) hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning to get things started. Liz Paul (Sugar Land Clements HS) hit a two-run home run in an eight-run fifth inning. ... Whitney Canion (Aledo HS) pitched her 39th career shutout, scattering seven hits, to 22-9 on the season. Clare Hosack, who drew a walk and scored a run for Baylor, caught Canions shutout. ... Gretchen Aucoin tossed her third-straight complete game while driving in three runs to lead Texas Tech to a 10-1 run-rule victory over Iowa State at Rocky Johnson Field. Tech head coach Shanon Hays picked up his 300th career win with the victory. ... UTs Brejae Washington bunted her way aboard in the first inning to become the Lady Longhorns all-time hits leader in a 3-0 win over the Oklahoma State. Gabby Smith (Houston Bellaire HS) threw her third complete game shutout on the season. ... Texas A&M lost 9-1 to Auburn in SEC play Sunday. Cassie Tysarczyk (Spring Branch Smithson Valley HS) hit a home run for A&Ms only run. ... • • • • • • • 7. FYI: This blog features Texas teams and athletes with Texas connections. It is compiled by retired newspaper journalist Bob Sonderegger (anglebob61@yahoo) who covered many of the teams mentioned. Your comments or additions are welcome.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 15:26:38 +0000